Sunken Barge Crane faces legal action if not removed Providence, RI

You can see the twisted steel from the highway driving through Providence. You can’t miss it if you’re on the water in the upper Providence River. A large crane and a barge have been submerged for about nine months, since October 2017. No government agency was holding its owner, Mark Ginalski, 60, of East Providence, responsible.

The state Department of Environmental Management told the NBC 10 I-Team in April that the wreck wasn’t leaking oil. The Coast Guard said it wasn’t a pollution threat or a hazard to navigation. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had no involvement.

Now, the city of Providence has stepped in and issued a sternly worded demand letter to Ginalski to remove the crane or face legal action.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) — You can see the twisted steel from the highway driving through Providence. You can’t miss it if you’re on the water in the upper Providence River. A large crane and a barge have been submerged for about nine months, since October 2017. No government agency was holding its owner, Mark Ginalski, 60, of East Providence, responsible.

The state Department of Environmental Management told the NBC 10 I-Team in April that the wreck wasn’t leaking oil. The Coast Guard said it wasn’t a pollution threat or a hazard to navigation. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had no involvement.

Now, the city of Providence has stepped in and issued a sternly worded demand letter to Ginalski to remove the crane or face legal action.

“The barge is an obstacle to the proper use of the waters for commercial and recreational purpose by the City and its residents,” wrote the harbormaster, Sgt. Kenneth Vinacco. He called the wreckage an “eyesore” and wrote, “If you fail to remove the barge from Providence Harbor by August 1, 2018, the city will take legal action.”